Month: April 2013

Adding to Thor MX’s dominating weekend, Thor riders Kurt Caselli and Charlie Mullins won their respective races at the AMA National Hare and Hound and the AMA National Enduro.

In Johnson Valley, Calif., Caselli has wasted no time in reminding his competition why he is back-to-back AMA National Hare and Hound champion. After a DNF at Round 1, Caselli added a third victory to his season with a win in Johnson Valley and now holds a 15-point lead after five rounds. Teammate Ivan Ramirez bounced back from a tough race at the previous round to finish on the podium with Caselli in second.

Thor’s Charlie Mullins made it a perfect April, winning both GNCC races and AMA National Enduro races that took place during the month. His latest win at the National Enduro in Westpoint, Tenn. on Sunday was another dominating one, winning by 1 minute and 23 seconds.

Mullins’ teammate Grant Baylor continues to adjust well to his first season of the series, scoring a sixth-place finish in Tennessee.

Thor’s Ryan Villopoto elevated himself to Monster Energy Supercross greatness on Saturday night following one of the most intense races of the season in Salt Lake City, Utah. Fans at the Rice-Eccles Stadium witnessed Villopoto hold off his biggest competition to clinch the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM Championship one round early, placing him in supercross history books. In clinching his third-consecutive championship, Villopoto became only one of four riders to accomplish the feat, including the likes of Ricky Carmichael, Jeremy McGrath, and Bob Hannah.

Entering the race, Villopoto’s main goal was to get out of Round 16 safe and with the points lead heading into the finale in Las Vegas. He did more than that as he quickly took over the lead at the second turn of the main event and held off attacks from rivals Davi Millsaps and Ryan Dungey to capture his ninth win of the season, a total that is a season and career best, and clinch his third championship.

“Every lap of that race was intense. I knew for those guys (Dungey and Millsaps) it was all or nothing when I was out front and I had to be smart. At the beginning of the season, we had a bit of a deficit to make up, and we had to chip away as the season went on. I have a great support system behind me, with Thor being a big part of my program, and we never wanted to seem defeated but go at it one race at a time, hoping things would turn around and it did. I am so grateful to have Thor on my side as a great sponsor and happy I was able to bring them another championship.” – Ryan Villopoto, Three-Time Supercross Champion.

Thor’s Ryan Villopoto edged ever closer to a third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross title after placing second at his hometown race in Seattle. His second-place finish increased his overall points lead to 25. With just two races left, Villopoto can clinch the title with another strong finish next week in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Western Regional 250SX returned in Seattle, with Tyla Rattray and Martin Davalos lining up for Thor. Rattray rode to his best finish of the season in fifth, moving him to ninth in the season standings. Martin Davalos overcame a few mistakes to take ninth, placing him sixth in the standings.

It was another great weekend for the Thor riders all around the globe, with Charlie Mullins and Gautier Paulin both pick up wins in their respective series.

At the Big Buck GNCC in Union, S.C., Mullins won his third race of the season over teammate Kailub Russell, who placed second. While Mullins won by 30 seconds, Russell finished nearly four minutes ahead of the third place rider. The win helped Mullins extend his championship lead to 10 points.

In XC2 class, Thor’s Grant Baylor tied his season-best finish of second, moving him into second place in total points for the year. Baylor battled for his second-place result, finishing just half a second in front of the third-place finisher.

After dominating every timing and qualification session, Thor’s Gautier Paulin continued to look great when it counted, winning the FIM Motocross World Championship in Bulgaria. His victory moved him into second place in the World Championship classification. Thor’s Jeremy van Horebeek was good for fifth place overall, his best result of the year. David Philippaerts took eighth overall, a result that has him edging ever closer to a top-10 season finish.

In MX2 class, Thor’s Alessandro Lupino took third overall, his best result of the season. Christophe Charlier was able to finish sixth overall with a 7-5 moto result.

Thor’s Maria Forsberg had a long race weekend that started with the Women’s Enduro X race at the X Games. After finishing with a silver medal in Brazil, she flew back and captured the GNCC Women’s class win in Union, S.C.

Thor’s Marvin Musquin, Charlie Mullins, and Kurt Caselli dominated their respective races over the weekend. Starting the weekend of victories was Musquin at the Monster Energy Supercross in Minneapolis, Minn., who continued his chase for the Eastern Regional 250SX championship with his fourth win of the season. He dominated the 15-lap main event and eventually won by eight and a half seconds.

In the 450SX class, Thor’s Ryan Villopoto led 16 of 20 laps in Minnesota before taking second-place. Villopoto’s finish helped his extend his lead to 22 points over second place in the championship standings with three races remaining.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki interim rider Tyler Bowers competed in his second 250SX race of the season since making the jump from Arenacross. He had a solid heat race, and overcame a crash in the main event to finish fifth. Cole Thompson was running in sixth most of the race, but went down in the final laps to finish 10th.

At the AMA National Enduro in Forest Hill, La., Thor’s Charlie Mullins dominated the field by winning all six tests and taking his second win of the season. Mullins extended his series points lead to 11. Thor’s Grant Baylor was sixth and maintained his sixth place standing in the season points race.

Thor’s Kurt Caselli took over the points lead with a first-place finish at the AMA National Hare and Hound race in Lucerne Valley, Calif. despite not finishing the first race of the season. Thor’s Ivan Ramirez was on pace for a good finish but took 15th after running into trouble on the final loop.

At the foot of the Italian Alps, Thor riders took to the track this weekend for the FIM World MX Championship in Arco di Trento, Italy. Gautier Paulin hit the podium once again to finish third, his third podium in four races. Thor’s Jeremy van Horebeek posted his first top ten of the season, finishing ninth.

In MX2, Thor’s Christophe Charlier finished just off the podium in fourth after battling through a number of riders after a tough start. He missed the podium by a single point. Alessandro Lupino grabbed a top ten finish in front of his home crowd.

The Monster Energy Supercross riders will make its move west to CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. Both the National Hare and Hound and National Enduro will return in two weeks.

Thor’s Ryan Villopoto came, saw, and conquered the latest Monster Energy Supercross at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Leading every lap and taking home the win, Villopoto stretched his win-streak to five and upped his points lead to 21 with four rounds remaining.

Also putting in an impressive ride in Houston was 250SX rider Marvin Musquin, who made his sixth trip to the podium with a third-place finish. The Eastern Regional riders have two rounds remaining and Musquin is in the thick of the championship battle, just eight points out of first place.

It was also an exciting night for the 250SX class as three-time Arenacross champion Tyler Bowers made his 2013 supercross debut with a career-best fourth place result. The reigning Arenacross champion made jump to supercross to help out the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team for the remaining Eastern Regional rounds.

Round 3 of the Grand National Cross Country Series was help in Morganton, N.C. over the weekend. Charlie Mullins and Kailub Russell made it another Thor 1-2 sweep with Mullins grabbing his second win of the season. Mullins moved into sole possession of the points lead over his teammate Russell, who sits just five points back.

In the XC2 class, Thor’s Grant Baylor returned to the podium for the second-straight race. His third-place finish has helped him remain in a tights points battle where he’s currently third and only four points back from second place. Thor’s Cody Gragg also made it out to North Carolina for his first GNCC of the year, placing a solid seventh-place in the XC2 class. Maria Forsberg also won the Women’s class earlier in the day, taking over the class points lead.

The Monster Energy Supercross riders will head to Minneapolis, Minn. for the first time since 2008 as they take over the Metrodome in downtown. The GNCC riders get a bit of a break until returning to action on April 21 in Union, S.C.